Comparison of thoraco-laparoscopic and open three-field subtotal esophagectomy for esophageal cancer / 中华胃肠外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the safety and efficacy of thoraco-laparoscopic subtotal esophagectomy in the treatment of esophageal cancer.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Clinical data of 98 patients with esophageal cancer who underwent thoraco-laparoscopic subtotal esophagectomy from March 2009 to October 2011 were retrospectively analyzed. One hundred and five patients were served as controls who underwent open three-field subtotal esophagectomy in the same period.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>There were significant differences between thoraco-laparoscopic and open three-field subtotal esophagectomy in blood loss [(85.1±32.8) ml vs. (215.5±60.6) ml], length of stay [(12.7±3.5) d vs. (16.9±4.5) d]), pneumonia (4.1% vs. 12.4%, P<0.05), atelectasis (3.1% vs. 10.5%, P<0.05), pleural effusion (3.1% vs. 10.5%, P<0.05), acute respiratory distress (1.0% vs. 7.6%, P<0.05) and arrhythmia (4.1% vs. 12.4%, P<0.05). No significant differences were observed in the number of lymph node harvested, operative time, anastomotic leak, thoracic abscess, chyle chest, re-laparotomy, re-thoracotomy, vocal cord paralysis, renal failure, gastric emptying, and mortality (all P>0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Thoraco-laparoscopic subtotal esophagectomy is technically feasible and safe and is associated with less blood loss, less cardiopulmonary complication, and shorter hospital stay.</p>

Measurement and analysis of the joint angle in lower limb during stair ascent / 医用生物力学

Objective To obtain the statistical data from the range of motion in lower limb of the Chinese people during their stair ascent so as to provide references for the design of artificial joints with large range flexion. Methods Common staircase as an experimental device was designed, and motion capture system（Optotrak Certus, NDI）and 3D force plate（AMTI, Bertec）were used to establish a systematic method to measure the lower limb motion from 40 subjects during stair ascent. Results The variation of joint angle and range of motion in hip, knee and ankle joints for the 40 subjects in different directions within one cycle were obtained and calculated. The range of motion in hip, knee and ankle joints at the sagittal plane were -1.6°~66.7°, 0°~91.4°,-20.8°~22.4°, respectively. Conclusions During the movement of stair ascent, the range of motion at the sagittal plane in hip, knee and ankle joints reached the maximum, with the most flexion in hip and knee. Compared with the movement during walking and jogging on flat road, the range of motion in joints both in hip and knee at the sagittal plane were larger during stair ascent.